October 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States; Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell shake hands after the game at US Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Pictures
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell brings intensity to every game.
Looking ahead to Sunday night’s matchup between the Lions and the Minnesota Vikings, which will determine the No. 1 seed in the NFC, Campbell knows his adrenaline will be pumping.
“You couldn’t write a better scenario,” Campbell said. “This is something out of a fairy tale.”
The stakes are clear for the final game of a long-running rivalry between NFC North foes Detroit (14-2) and visiting Minnesota (14-2).
The winning team will take first place, a first-round bye and home-field advantage during the conference playoffs. The losing team will earn a wild card spot and begin the postseason on the road against the Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Atlanta Falcons.
The Lions and Vikings took very different paths toward the end of the regular season.
Detroit entered the NFC championship game last season and led by 17 points at halftime against the visiting San Francisco 49ers. But the Lions faltered in the second half and lost 34-31 to the 49ers, missing out on a chance to reach the Tremendous Bowl for the first time in franchise history.
This year, Detroit went 12-1 to start the season and has been one of the best teams in the NFL for months. Both Lions’ losses (a 20-16 setback against Tampa Bay and a 48-42 loss at the hands of the Buffalo Payments) came by single digits.
Campbell knows a No. 1 seed in the playoffs could help avoid a repeat of last season’s heartbreaking road loss in the conference title game. The Lions have also been plagued by recent injuries, and a break could provide an important additional week for players to rest and recover.
“Gross you come out of that game and feel like what gives you the best odds of where the final (goal) is, which is, as we all know, what the prize is, and that’s the Tremendous Bowl,” Campbell said, reflecting on the last loss of the year in the playoffs in San Francisco. “You try to prepare the best you can, and that’s why you set those goals.
“So, yeah, it’s been there for a while. Certainly, this is something we want to do and we’ve had it in mind: division and a seed and all that, and it’s right there in our hands.”
Meanwhile, Minnesota entered the season with an outside chance of winning the division, let alone going deep in the playoffs. The Vikings went 7-10 a year ago and parted ways with veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, who signed as a free agent with Atlanta.
In place of Cousins, the Vikings signed Sam Darnold to a one-year deal as a potential bounce-back project. They also selected Michigan’s JJ McCarthy in the first round.
McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason. Darnold took complete management of the offense and never looked back.
In 16 starts, Darnold threw for 4,153 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Darnold deserves praise for his excellence this season.
“You can tell a guy what he’s going to be like and you can tell him a lot of things,” O’Connell said. “But only the player is responsible for getting to where Sam has gotten.”
Darnold said he was excited to take the field with his teammates Sunday night. The Vikings are on a nine-game winning streak and haven’t lost since Oct. 24 against the Rams.
“I’ll say this: It’s fun,” Darnold said. “That’s really all it is. Just having a lot of fun playing football right now. What happened last week and the week before, doesn’t matter now. The only thing that matters is this game and this opportunity, and that’s all I want.” “I’m thinking.”
Justin Jefferson is Darnold’s top target with 100 receptions for 1,479 yards and 10 touchdowns. Aaron Jones leads the rushing attack with 1,093 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
For Detroit, Jared Goff also shined at quarterback with 4,398 yards, 36 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Amon-Ra St. Brown has 109 receptions for 1,186 yards and 12 touchdowns, and Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 1,273 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The matchup also presents an intriguing head-to-head challenge between two of the NFL’s most respected assistants: Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
The teams last met in Week 7, when the Lions held on to win 31-29 in Minneapolis. Goff threw for two touchdowns and Gibbs ran for two more.
–Media at field level
